Masonry Facade Repair

The Problem

A seventeen story concrete frame structure with a brick masonry facade provided the residence for its owners in the form of condominiums. The brick facade was exhibiting distress in the form of cracks and spalling particles of brick that would fall to the ground and endanger the people walking around the building as well as those entering and leaving. The cracks and spalls appeared to the result of thermal movement of the masonry wall.

The Solution

To alleviate the problem, it was necessary to install the support angles and soft joints to control the movement of the masonry facade. As the structural engineer developed his design solution, Restruction Corporation was invited to become a part of the design/construct team working with the owner to develop a cost effective solution. The structural engineer, upon analyzing the problem elected to install a system of support angles and soft joints at every third floor. To achieve this, the issue of constructability had to be resolved. Working with the owner and the structural engineer Restruction Corporation developed a construction engineered solution to install the support angles and the soft joints without having to remove and replace the masonry wall.

The structural engineer took advantage of the bridging effect within the masonry wall and designed a support system that required angle brackets at defined intervals to provide the structural support system at the designated floors. Restruction Corporation repair technicians, starting at the upper most designated floor, removed the required number of bricks necessary to install a support angle. The angle installations were done one at a time on each of the designated floors to take advantage of the bridging action of the masonry wall. In following this procedure, no additional cracking occurred in the masonry wall. Once all the required support angles were installed at a given floor elevation, the existing mortar joint below the support angle was removed and a soft joint installed. This procedure was repeated as we went down the side of the building.

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